#mind
"Like Fichte, Brentano had one simple and powerful insight. He declared: there is a basic difference between a mental and physical act. if I slip on the snow and fall flat on my back, that is an unintentional physical act. But there is no such thing as an unintentional mental act. When I think, I have to think about something; I have to focus my mind on it. You could compare all mental acts to a searchlight beam stabbing into the darkness. There is an element of will, of 'intentionality,' in all mental activity. So it is quite inaccurate to compare mental activity to chemistry, or to a kind of drifting, like leaves on a stream. It flows purposefully or not at all."
React to this quote
More by Colin Wilson
See allResonant Thoughts
Explore Further
Related Quotes
"I am only able to do what stirs me. I want to perceive with my senses things which at the moment are not ge…"
— Anselm Kiefer"It is a right and a duty to fight for one's life and for one's faith. So, I think we have to be careful bec…"
— Joseph Zen"Besides, I try to judge things for myself; to judge wrong, I think, is more honourable than not to judge at…"
— Henry James"I would say any type of sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military. And the fact that they're …"
— Rick Santorum"There is no thinking except as aftermath or preparation of communication."
— Randall Collins"All our thoughts and beliefs are somehow hollow until they find expression in action."
— Shaun Chamberlin
